Film for Brownie from 1910

Crispin

I have a Brownie No. 3 Box camera from 1910 I just found in my wardrobe. It supposedly takes 124 film. Will I be able to use 120? or buy 124 somewhere? Any help appreciated.

CabanSail

You should have some fun reading The Brownie Camera Page

I think it would take 117 film which is the same width as 120 film but with different spools.

Do you have spools with the camera?

Crispin

no spools think this might be one for the shelf for now.... thanks for the link. Can't find 124, 117 or 118(apparently this can be used too) film anywhere for a reasonable price

humberklog

Should only need one spool. This slots into where the winder is on the bottom. Before splashing out on med format film you could just run 35mm through it and check it for clarity and light leaks.

If you get 4 lids from film cannisters and wedge the roll between two tops on either side, this'll perfectly centralise the roll within the camera. Then measure out your turn of the wheel so that you don't double expose. I think it's 2 and a half turns of the wheel.

Throw in some free film and practice loading and unloading in daylight before trying to do it in the dark as you will have to be in a blacked out room when taking it out and winding the film back into its cannister.

Here's a few samples of my own with very same camera

CabanSail

I wonder if any of the modern DSLR's will still be taking photo's in a century. You can bet there will still be some operational Box Brownies.

Kintarō Hattori

CabanSail wrote: »

I wonder if any of the modern DSLR's will still be taking photo's in a century. You can bet there will still be some operational Box Brownies.

I have often wondered about that. Older cameras have a quirkiness/quaintness/charm about them that they are rather collectable. And due to their mostly mechanical nature many of them still work just fine.

What about DSLRs, will something based on the latest cutting edge technology be desireable in 30+ years time. Personally I can't see someone having a fondness for them in the way that people have now for film cameras.

Interesting question Tony.

Blisterman

I suppose the difference is that early cameras were just a lens and a box to hold film, rather than the complex sensors and screens in digital cameras.

I can see modern lenses still being around in 100 years.

charybdis

CabanSail wrote: »

I wonder if any of the modern DSLR's will still be taking photo's in a century. You can bet there will still be some operational Box Brownies.

This isn't so much an indictment of DSLR design as much as it is an indictment of post-1970s SLR design. Since 1985 (when Canon introduced EOS) mainstream SLR design has been based on the idea that SLRs are basically computers that control the light-sensitive medium inside them. Even before this, camera companies were making cameras wouldn't function without electronic controls, long before the advent of mass-market digital photography. While digital capture adds a significant layer of complexity to the cameras, they're already complex electronic devices and are still a long way from simple mechanical contraptions akin to a Box Brownie.

You can still buy a fully mechanical new Leica today with new fully mechanical lenses which, used and kept in a reasonable way, would almost certainly work well in a century's time. I'm not sure I could say the same for a lot of electronic SLRs from the 1990s.

philbo

I'm just after picking up a Brownie in a charity shop, well pleased with it. It takes 127 film though, does anyone know of anywhere that still develops it?

I know you can get the film off ebay, but not much point unless there's somewhere to do it! I'm already going to London to get half neg film developed every so often as it is...

thefizz

philbo wrote: »

I'm just after picking up a Brownie in a charity shop, well pleased with it. It takes 127 film though, does anyone know of anywhere that still develops it?

I know you can get the film off ebay, but not much point unless there's somewhere to do it! I'm already going to London to get half neg film developed every so often as it is...

Gunns will develop 127 B&W film and they said they will have some of these films in stock in a few weeks. I don't know about colour though.

philbo

Great stuff, thanks for the info

Jim

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I have often wondered about that. Older cameras have a quirkiness/quaintness/charm about them that they are rather collectable. And due to their mostly mechanical nature many of them still work just fine.

What about DSLRs, will something based on the latest cutting edge technology be desireable in 30+ years time. Personally I can't see someone having a fondness for them in the way that people have now for film cameras.

Interesting question Tony.

While very true, technology may exist in a totally different way in 100 years than we have today. We can't even perceive what technology will be available then, the same way people from 1910 couldn't even imagine anything like microchips etc. So my 450D may still have some quaint charm to it yet!

Silverfish

I bought some adaptor thingies on ebay, that fit into a 35mm film spool so it can be used in a brownie, can't see them on it now but they were basically little clips to allow the spool to sit centred in the camera, and wind on correctly.

Currently using it in this thing:


I also have 4 rolls of 620 film that expired in 1970 that I'm afraid to use.